Interesting comment from Gruber about an article from the Walt Street Journal on the need for Apple to find the next big thing. Here is an excerpt (emphasis is mine):

There will be major new products from Apple, someday, when they’re ready. There is no rush for them. If you’re worried about Apple’s near-future success, the key is their execution on their existing products. The Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Watch are all businesses that any company would kill for. Apple has all of them, and none of them are going anywhere. Apple needs to keep them insanely great where they already are, and raise them to insanely great where they aren’t.

So let’s try to judge how is the execution going on current products lines.

Repetitive problems with MacBook Pro keyboards since their redesign in 2016. Still in need for a final fix.

Batterygate (all iPhone). Bendgate (iPhone 6, 2018 iPad).

Bad FaceTime camera on recently updated MacBook Air.

Lack of updates on the 2013 Mac Pro, still selling for the same price since launched.

Many years without updating the Mac mini.

Product delays for the AirPod.

Announced but unreleased AirPower.

Software quality was going downhill on up until iOS 12. Not sure this is better on macOS though.

iOS 7. No comment.

Lost of general enlightment while using their software in general with a few rare exceptions.

And on, and on, and on.

You could argue that nobody can’t match Apple on their scale for selling so many devices. This would be a fair point. But as Tim Cook likes to point out, this is not about selling most, this is about selling the best devices.